Chapter 8 Arriving At Cocoa West Village

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After several days of sailing, they finally arrived near Cocoyasi Village. The hired crew members were afraid of the reputation of the Arlong Pirates, so they followed the nearby merchant ships back to their homes.

"Captain, do you want to go in directly?" Zoro asked with murderous intent.

"No, let's pretend to be businessmen and gather some information first."

Amber and Zoro disguised themselves as merchants and paid a large sum of money to the Fishman at the gate to enter.

Cocoyasi Village was originally poor in resources. After the arrival of the Arlong Pirates, it became even poorer. Therefore, the goods brought by the occasional merchants were the only source of improving the villagers' lives.

Amber sold various resources purchased in Ange Town, such as meat, vegetables, salt, and specialties, to the villagers of Cocoyasi Village on a half-sale, half-free basis, which gained a lot of goodwill.

"Captain, aren't we here to gather information? What are we doing?" Zoro said, depressed.

"Aren't we gathering information?" Amber chuckled.

Seeing the numb expressions and desperate eyes of the villagers, Amber secretly resolved that the Arlong Pirates would not be allowed to continue their reign of terror.

Stopping a villager at random, the previous act of goodwill proved useful. The villager greeted them enthusiastically.

"Two adults, do you have any orders?"

"Hello, I would like to ask where Nami's home is?" Amber asked in a friendly tone.

The previously enthusiastic villager immediately became wary.

"What do you want with Nami? Are you here to cause trouble?" The villager clenched his fists, ready to act if Amber admitted any ill intent.

Although Nami joined the Arlong Pirates, everyone in the village knew her true intentions. They pretended not to know to protect her, but they loved the girl who sacrificed everything to defend the village.

In the original work, after Nami's hard-earned 100 million beli were snatched by Nezumi and Arlong, the villagers became furious. They picked up weapons and even brooms to fight against the Arlong Pirates, knowing full well the significant difference in physical strength.

They knew they would likely die but went anyway, just because the Arlong Pirates made Nami cry.

"No, no, you misunderstand. I am a friend of Nami's from outside." Amber showed a warm smile, indicating he meant no harm.

The villager scrutinized Amber's smile and kindness. After confirming he had no ill intentions, the villager exhaled.

"Her home is quite remote. Follow this road to the outskirts, and you'll see an orange orchard. That's her home."

"Thank you very much."

After thanking the villager, Amber and Zoro walked toward Nami's house.

"Captain, who is this Nami?" Zoro asked, puzzled.

"She's the navigator I found for us. Without a skilled navigator, sailing on the Grand Line is basically suicidal."

...

Soon, Amber and Zoro arrived at Nami's house. The garden was full of orange trees, heavy with fruit.

"Bang, bang, bang," Amber knocked lightly on the door.

"Hello, what do you want?" The door soon opened, revealing a beautiful woman with light blue short hair. Seeing Amber and Zoro, she asked curiously and warily.

"Hello, we are friends of Nami and came here specifically to see her. My name is Amber, and the guy with green hair is Zoro." Amber introduced himself.

"Ah! I'm Nami's friend. Nami happens to be away. I'm her sister Nojiko." Nojiko smiled back.

"Nami will be back soon. Why don't you come in and wait? Try some of our oranges, the specialty of Cocoyasi Village," Nojiko invited them warmly.

"Thank you." Amber bowed like a gentleman.

Then he and Zoro went inside and sat down. Nojiko went to the garden to pick some oranges for them.

Zoro didn't say much. As his captain, Amber only needed his support.

"I didn't expect Nami to make friends outside!" Nojiko said with a smile. She knew Nami often went out to steal and deceive pirates, bad guys, and villains to save 100 million beli.

"It's a coincidence, really." Amber responded awkwardly, as Nami had never actually met them.

"I heard about this village and the Arlong Pirates...can you tell me more? I want to understand." Amber asked with a serious tone.

"Are you concerned about Nami? It seems she found a good friend! Of course."

Nojiko slowly recounted the events between herself, Nami, and their adoptive mother, Bell-mère.

"Nami, that silly girl, made a deal with Arlong. As long as Nami helps him draw sea maps and earns 100 million beli, he would supposedly let her buy Cocoyasi Village. But making deals with pirates...will they ever keep their promises? Yet, Nami believed it..." Nojiko said in a low tone.

After she finished, the room became quiet.

Suddenly, Zoro stood up and said in a serious tone, "Captain, let's kill Arlong!"

"What? You're going to fight Arlong?" Nojiko panicked.

"You mustn't go. Fishmen are ten times stronger than humans, and Arlong is even stronger than ordinary Fishmen. If you go, you'll only die."

"Sister, I'm back!" At this moment, a voice came from outside the door. It was Nami.

Nami walked in and immediately took out her staff, pointing it at Amber and Zoro warily. "Who are you? Why are you in my house?"

"Nami, aren't these your friends?" Nojiko asked, confused.

"I don't know them at all. Sister, come here quickly and get behind me!" Nami pulled Nojiko behind her.

"Please wait, Miss Nami. We don't mean any harm." Amber quickly tried to defuse the tension.

"Who are you?" Nami asked again.

"We are bounty hunters, here specifically to hunt Arlong," Amber explained.

"Bounty hunters?" Nami repeated, doubtful.

"Miss Nami, we truly mean no harm. If we had, we would have done something by now. Can you please put the staff away?" Amber suggested.

Nami put away the staff after seeing that Amber and Zoro didn't mean any harm.

"If you want to exchange Arlong's head for a bounty, give up! In the past six years, countless bounty hunters like you have been killed by the Arlong Pirates," Nami said coldly.

"That's not necessarily the case. Please look at the person next to me. He is the strongest bounty hunter in East Blue, Roronoa Zoro, also known as 'Pirate Hunter Zoro,'" Amber replied calmly.

"No matter who you are, you can never defeat Arlong. Do you know how strong he is? You have no idea!" Nami shouted angrily.

"Miss Nami, you don't understand what true strength is. A Fishman like Arlong would be defeated in one round by a real strong person," Amber said confidently.